to the process side of things, and you have to have a sales plan for growth.” When production began in May
2011, the new technology, at least for the personnel at Pure Power, was aided by a reinvestment in cast- ing design engineering. T e facility upgraded its simulation software pack- age and hired an engineering manager with nearly 20 years of experience in simulation and product design in April 2012. “T e investment was made
primarily for the green sand busi- ness,” Cheatham said of the software purchase. “But as we approached more lost foam business, we bought a module add-on to the current software that allows us to do simulation for lost foam. Now, it is normal operating procedure for both green sand and lost foam: If we’re going into the development of a new product, we always run simula- tions before building any tooling.” T e emphasis on rapid prototyping,
in conjunction with the engineer- ing and simulation developments, has given Pure Power’s personnel an opportunity to approach diff erent
Johnston said. “When they start mov- ing forward with other geometries, whether they’re low or high volume, they’ll be farther along on that learn- ing curve.”
Building a Cookie Cutter Pure Power’s lost foam line has
Initially produced via green sand, the “cookie cutter” was an early success for Pure Power’s lost foam line.
geometries with production numbers often in the single digits. In eff ect, the prototypes off er a crash course in learning lost foam casting production. “T at’s a feather in their cap,”
plenty of growth potential, with production hovering around 2% of total capacity. The line’s initial project, a shock absorber bracket for Navistar’s heavy trucks, encapsulates the potential advantages for clients when compared to similar parts cast in green sand. When the part was cast in green sand, it required con- siderable machining requirements. The face and back needed to be machined, the hole along the top needed to be drilled, and the parting line needed to be ground. “On the surface, the design appears
relatively simple,” Johnston said of the 8.25 x 5.35 x 1.5-in. component. “But there are some serous tolerances asso- ciated with that part when you need it in an as-cast condition.” Because production already took place in the Waukesha facility, the
The new lost foam line has 35 x 54 x 47-in. fl asks and can produce castings from 5 to 700 lbs. 26 | MODERN CASTING December 2013
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